


On the Edge of Regret.

by theatergirl06



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: F/F, aramour, yay!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24328870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theatergirl06/pseuds/theatergirl06
Summary: A trip to the hospital and a scary surgery forces one of the queens to confront her true feelings about the person closest to her heart.
Relationships: Catherine of Aragon/Jane Seymour
Comments: 9
Kudos: 80





	On the Edge of Regret.

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Hospitals, anesthesia surgery, mentions of car accidents.  
> Inspired by my own little surgery today, though I got a different, less scary surgery than the one here. Enjoy:)

Catherine of Aragon was not very good at answering her phone.

For that matter, she wasn’t particularly good at using her phone in the first place. She always preferred to talk with other people face to face, so she never texted them. She didn’t see the point video games or social media when there were books and family around.

Plus, ninety percent of the time, her texts were entirely spam from Anne. The beheaded queen certainly had a knack for teasing.

As such, her phone was on silent mode most of the time, and when it rang, she usually didn’t even answer it. 

Most of the queens didn’t mind this habit unless they really, really needed to reach her, but when they did, it could cause real problems.

Such was the case one particular Sunday afternoon. Jane had gone out shopping that morning, four out of the five remaining queens were lazing around the living room doing various activities, while the fifth, Kat, was still asleep, having been up rather late the night before. She’d never specifically told them what she was up to, but Anna’s room was right next to hers, and Anna had sworn she’d heard the sounds of cartoons coming from the soft, pink room next door.

It was a rare occasion when no particular queen had a lot of worry or guilt or negativity in general on her mind. Most of them were simply absorbed in enjoying the everyday activities they adored. Cathy was doing a puzzle, Anne was doing mazes with Anna, and Catherine was reading a book. 

She’d gotten to a particularly good chapter, that one chapter in the middle of every good story where that character you’ve been rooting for the entire time comes into their own and saves everyone, when her phone, which was sitting on the table on the other side of the room, began ringing.

Not wanting to bother with it, she turned back to her book for a few seconds, only to look up and find that all of the others were staring at her. 

“What?”

They kept staring.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to answer it?”

Catherine glanced at her phone, which was still ringing over on the counter. “Should I? I usually just don’t answer my phone because it’s often a spam call.”

“Yeah,” said Anne, “but I’m right here.”

Kat, who had come in at some point while Catherine was reading her book, froze over by the coffee table and groaned. “This is  _ literally  _ what happens in every horror movie.”

Everyone groaned.

“Just pick up the phone.”

Catherine rolled her eyes. “Well if you think it’s so utterly important, then I will.”

So, reluctantly, she walked over to the other side of the room and picked up the phone.

“Hello?”   
She listened to the words on the other end of the line. Her brain blocked out all the “it’ll be okay”s and the “there’s nothing to worry about”s. All she saw was the worst case scenario. And it was a horrifying one indeed.

She placed the phone back down, still feeling as though an enormous electric shock had coursed through her entire body.

She turned to the others, who were staring at her yet again, with faces full of worry.

And rightfully so.

She gulped nervously.

“Get your coats, everyone. We’re going to the hospital.”

Driving on the road, Catherine couldn’t help but think that time never seemed to go by fast enough when you needed it most. She couldn’t think for a second without her thoughts circling right back to Jane.

Her best friend, the confidante and dearest family member of every person sitting in her car.

She loved her more than she could say, in ways so complicated she could never seem to explain them to anyone, even herself. 

She couldn’t think about that too much. It would only bring her more fear and more pain. 

But she couldn’t stop.

After what felt like eternity in the car, the queens finally pulled up to the hospital parking garage, each one frantic in a different way. Catherine could barely even hear herself barking orders to all the others, using the loud, bossy tones she so often turned to when she was in pain.

The queens raced down the rather barren hallway, each queen gripping the hand of at least one other. They turned a sharp corner, and almost immediately ran right into a desk.

They sat still inside of a purple room after that, waiting for some sort of information, any new news, anything at all.

After what felt like years, a woman stepped out of a pair of doors. She was short with brown hair, hazel-brown eyes, and glasses. She looked very professional, and she had an air of “I get things done and I do them well” about her that Catherine very much admired.

Of course, the queens spared her with questions all at once.    
“What happened?”

“Where’s Jane?

“Is she all right?”

“Is she safe?”

“What happened to her?”

“Can we see her?”

“Is she hurt?”

Despite the relevance and reality of all the questions, the last one seemed to sting them all the notes, enough, at least, to make every single queen fall silent.

The doctor cleared her throat.

“All right, so your friend...Jane...got into a little accident on the way home. It’s not a big deal. Just a speeding car and a very fixable injury. But…” she trailed off a bit at the sight of their nervous faces, but plowed on nonetheless. “Jane is here now, and she’s fine, but we have reason to believe she’s bleeding internally. Not enough for it to be incredibly dangerous, but she  _ will  _ be in pain. The sooner we get rid of this little cut, the better. But getting rid of the cut requires a very minor surgery. This surgery is not dangerous, but we need one of you to be with her when she’s under anesthesia, and we need someone to drive her home.

Catherine was surprised to find herself speaking without hesitation. “I’ll take her home. I promise.”

The other queens stared at her. It was no secret that Jane was her best friend, but gestures of care and affection were rare from the Spanish queen. Of course she wasn’t a mean person, but her love was showed through those little moments of truth. She wasn’t one to step in and take somebody home.

But she cared for Jane deeply. And she almost hadn’t picked up the phone. They’d been seconds away from leaving her at the hospital, all alone. She wouldn’t forgive herself or stop trying to make up for it until she was positive Jane was all right.

Because she loved her. Maybe more than she’d ever thought, or at least in a different way. She wasn’t positive, and everything was jumbled up in her brain.

But she was going to take her home. That much she was sure of. 

The others were still staring at her. 

“Don’t look so surprised.”

The doctor cleared her throat, looking slightly perplexed by the clear oddness going on around her. “Okay. We...also need someone to be in the pre-op room with her, and then that person can come and get her when she’s in recovery. The rest of you can wait here, and you’ll be able to see her once she’s out of recovery.”

The queens stared at one another. Driving home was one thing, but this was another thing entirely. Of course they all wanted to see Jane, to be with her. She was the heart and soul of their little family. They all cared so much about her.

Catherine hadn’t intended to, but she found herself speaking again. “I can stay with her.”

The others glared at her. She could understand that. They _all_ wanted to see Jane, of course they did. She didn’t want to steal her away, of course not. She would never _do_ that.

And yet, for some reason, that was exactly what she found herself doing.

Kat cleared her throat, shooting daggers at the Spanish queen through her eyes. The doctor, looking slightly irritated, turned to Anna and Cathy, who, unsurprisingly, looked the least angry out of all the queens. 

“I’m going to go finish prepping her, and then…” she gestured to Catherine, “I can come and get her.”

“That sounds fine.”

“Thank you.”

The second the doctor was out of sight, Kat grabbed Catherine’s arm and yanked her out of the waiting room into a small side corridor.

“Just where do you get off claiming all the time with Jane without even  _ asking  _ the rest of us?!”

“Look, Kat, I didn’t intend to…”

“You know, she’s basically my mother. I would’ve liked to see her, too! So would Cathy, and Anne, and Anna! You should have at least asked us before you went and took everything!”

“Look, I know you’re worried, but…”

“Of course I’m worried, and I would’ve liked to at least have the chance to see her!”

Catherine sighed, slumping against the wall. “I’m worried, too, you know.”

Kat’s face softened as she leaned against the wall next to her. “I know you are. We all are.”

Catherine turned her face to the pink-haired queen nervously. “Look, the reason I took that time…”

“You don’t have to explain it to me.”

“I think I’m in love with her.” She exhaled, feeling calmer than she’d felt all day. She hadn’t known it was true until she said it, but now it was abundantly clear. “No, I...I know I am. And I know this surgery isn’t dangerous, but if something goes wrong, I have to tell her. If I don’t and I never see her again, I’ll regret it forever.”

There was a pause. Far down the hallway, a nurse rolled a cart from one door to another.

“I think she loves you too.”

“You  _ do _ ?!”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure.”

Catherine gave the fifth queen a small smile. “Don’t tell the others yet, okay?”

“I won’t.”

As if on cue, Anne popped her head out of the waiting room. “The doctor says you can go see her now.”

Catherine gave Kat a lightning-fast hug before entering the room, where the doctor was waiting along with Anna and Cathy.

Cathy, too, gave the Spanish queen a quick hug, whispering  _ good luck _ into her ear. She said it in a way that was loaded with more emotion than Catherine would have ever expected, leaving her to wonder just how much the final wife really knew. 

She followed the doctor out of the waiting room, down a hallway, and into another room, where a very tired-looking Jane was sitting in a chair. She looked mostly the same as she always did, just a bit paler and with bigger bags under her eyes. She gave Catherine a smile.

“Catherine, I…”

“I know, you weren’t expecting me to be here.”

Jane gave a little surprised laugh. “No, actually. I was going to say I’m happy to see you.”

The doctor poked her head into the room. “Just a few minutes.”

“All right.”

Catherine turned to Jane as the door shut behind her. “You’re really happy to see me?”

“Of course I am.”

Catherine wanted to smile back and not be nervous, but she knew what she had to say.

“Jane, I...I have to tell you something.”

“Of course. You’re my best friend, you can tell me anything.”

Catherine sighed. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt and confuse Jane right before she went and got surgery. 

But she couldn’t stay silent anymore. Not now that she knew exactly how she felt about the third queen.

“Jane...I don’t want you to hate me for what I’m about to say.”

“Catherine, don’t be silly. I could never hate you.”

Catherine took a deep breath. “Okay, so...I’ve been thinking about this for awhile. I’ve always known it was possible, and the more I thought, the more I thought it was true. And today, I finally figured it out. Now I know.”

“You know what?”

Catherine looked the blonde woman straight in the eye. “Jane, I...I’m in love with you.”

Jane’s eyes opened wide, but before she could even say anything, the doctor opened the door.

“It’s time.”

Catherine felt tears pooling in her eyes. She didn’t want this to be the last time she saw her. The doctor, noticing this, came over and began to prep the table.

“Look, I can’t promise that she’ll be okay. I never can. But this is not a risky surgery. The chances are very, very high.”

Catherine began to leave the room, trying to get out of her friend’s sight before she saw her tears. “I understand.” She gave Jane one last look, trying very hard to keep from breaking into full-on sobs then and there. “Bye, Jane.”

“Bye, Catherine.”

And she closed the door behind her before she had to see her face again. She couldn’t bear it.

The second she went back to the waiting room, the other queens swarmed her, full of questions.

“How was she?”

“Did she seem all right?”

“Did the doctor say how long this is gonna take?”

“Are  _ you  _ alright, you look shaken up!”

Catherine took a shaky breath, quickly drying the last of the tears from her eyes. “I’m alright, just shaken, yeah. She seems okay, too, just a little tired. I have no idea how long it’s going to take.”

The other queens sighed and plopped back into their seats all over the waiting room; Cathy by the window, Anne and Anna over by the television, watching some ridiculous looking game show. For once, she didn’t scold them about the destructive ideas those shows were planting in their heads. They could watch whatever they wanted today.

Only Kat remained, pulling her excitedly and nervously into a corner.

“Did you tell her?”

Catherine took a shaky breath. “Yeah. Yeah I did.”

Kat squealed, clasping her hands together in excitement. She always  _ had  _ been a bit of a romantic.

“Well, what did she say?”

Catherine groaned. “She didn’t say anything. The doctor came in and took her right after I told her.”

“No way! That’s like...soap opera level bad luck!”

“Tell me about it.”

Kat placed her hands on her shoulders. She had to reach up and stand on the tops of her toes because of her short height. “Well, when you see her again, you can see how she feels, too.”

“You mean if I see her again.”

“No, I mean when. There’s no point in thinking any other way unless someone’s really told you to be hopeless.”

She smiled, and then bounced over to the television with Anne and Anna, where they changed the channel to some cartoon they’d been watching recently. Catherine took a seat in one of the big purple chairs and stared at the wall. 

After what felt like an eternity of doctors coming in and out, giving information to seemingly every other family in the room, the doctor finally came over to where Catherine was sitting.

All the other queens jumped up instantly and hurried over, faces full of worry.

“How did it go?”

“Is she alive?”

“Is she safe?”

“Can we take her home now?”

The doctor cleared her throat, smiling. “Everything went perfectly. She’s completely all right. She’s on anesthesia right now, but when it wears off a bit, you can take her home.” She turned to Catherine. “Would you like to come and see her?”

Catherine tried to ignore the tears of joy and relief that were suddenly spilling out of her eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah I really want to see her.”

So she followed the doctor down a different hallway, trying to ignore the excited grin on Kat’s face until they arrived at the recovery room, where she found Jane lying on a bed, looking exhausted but content.

“Hey stranger.”

Catherine laughed as she sat down. “You’re loopy on the anesthesia, aren’t you?”

“Nooooo.” The third queen burst into laughter. Catherine couldn’t help but notice how pretty her laugh sounded.

They seemed to stay there for hours, talking and laughing. Despite how out of it Jane clearly was, Catherine couldn’t help but feel like she was glowing, just because they were together. 

After a while, Jane settled onto the bed, looking rather deep in thought.

“What is it? Are you feeling all right?”

“Yeah. Yeah, it’s just…” wincing, Jane turned her head so that she was looking Catherine straight in the eye. “I remember what you said before I went into that surgery.”

Catherine felt herself blush deeply. “You...you do, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Catherine took a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry. You were going into surgery and it was inappropriate and weird and I shouldn’t have done it. I never meant to confuse you or anything like that. I just…”

“Catherine?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you, too.”

There was a beat of silence. Catherine felt herself exhaling all the air in her body.   
“You...that’s not the anesthesia talking?”

“No.”

“But...why?”

Jane’s face softened as she stared the first queen in the eyes. “Catherine, you’ve been there for me forever. You’re strong and clever and kind. You’re everything I could ever want.”

There was another beat of silence.

“I feel the same way about you.’

Another beat.

“Jane, I’m going to do something. It might be a bit odd.”

“Okay?”

There was one last beat of silence.

And then Catherine leaned forward and kissed her. 

Just for a second, lightly and quickly, but it was there.

Jane smiled up at her, giggling happily. “Once more, please!”

Catherine laughed. “Okay, that’s  _ definitely  _ the anesthesia talking.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

But Catherine kissed her again anyway. When she pulled away, she felt Jane’s fingers reach over and find hers. She smiled.    
“You know what?”

“What?”

“I think this is going to be really, really good.”

Jane smiled, the late afternoon sunlight coming through the window and making her hair appear as though it was glowing.

“Me too.”


End file.
